


The Creature of Briar Road

by TheLaziestMotherfucker



Series: Lore [1]
Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Blood and Injury, Body Horror, Episode 53: Trees and Shadows, Folklore, For now I will tag it as such, For now it should be okay, Horror, I will post warnings if there is a gore in a chapter, Lore Podcast - Freeform, M/M, Smut, This is completely separate from the show, This probably isn't going to be terrifying, Violence, don't know yet, maybe smut at some point, we will see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-05-26 13:11:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15001592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLaziestMotherfucker/pseuds/TheLaziestMotherfucker
Summary: High school lovers, Charlie and Matteusz are grown up and in their 20's and they are starting their life together in a small, secluded town.In this town there is a secret. There's an unspoken rule put in place to save the lives of the people.Stay away from Briar Road.(Based off Episode 53: Trees and Shadows from the Lore podcast)





	1. We're New Here

**Author's Note:**

> I know I already have like two other Class series but I got this idea for this one and I really hope I can follow through with it. If I enjoy writing this fic till the end then I will be writing more with other Class relationships. The reason why I'm writing Marlie first is because this was the first idea that I had and it had them in it. 
> 
> This fic is inspired by the Lore podcast Episode 53. Story wise it will have some similarities to the stories that Aaron Mahnke describes in that episode but I have given the area a name of it's own and I still plan on going off from that podcast.

_Hide your children and hide your pets. Hide your wife and hide your husband. Hide your friends and your loved ones. For there is no telling if they will make it through the night if you don’t._

_Lock your doors and lock your cars. Keep every entry sealed. You never know what could be lurking around in the dark._

 

**xXx**

That was the unspoken rule of the town. Stay inside when nighttime falls. That’s a guarantee of making it through the night. If you disobeyed this rule, there was no punishment, but there were consequences. The people of the town would never punish someone for breaking the rule, what they would probably do is commemorate the person for their bravery, but that’s all. Consequences came from the darkness. If you were brave enough, and quite possibly stupid enough to wander out at night, the chances are that you won't make it to morning.

Your life is not promised in the dark and open. No one can help you underneath the twilight.

No one can help you on Briar road.

 

**xXx**

 

Charlie’s head shot up at the sound of a car door opening. He frantically looked around his surroundings, brow furrowing in confusion at the unfamiliar sight. He blinked a few times, clearing his blurry vision from sleep.

“You’re awake,” A Polish voice said cheerfully. Charlie looked over. There was Matteusz smiling fondly at him in the car doorway. Charlie gave a small smile and nodded his head, leaning it back on the seat’s headrest. “Did you sleep well?” He asked, leaning into the car, close to Charlie. He nodded his head again. “Good,” Matteusz said.

He closed the small gap between them with a kiss. Charlie’s eyes fluttered shut as he savored the sweet moment. They slowly broke apart, resting their heads against one another’s. Charlie wanted to pull him back in the car and just sleep in the back seat. He was tired and come to think of it he was cold as well, and he wanted Matteusz close to him.

“We’re here,” Matteusz said, smiling again. 

Charlie looked further to his right, noticing the house. He wondered how he missed it earlier. All that was in sight was the house and the wood around it, there wasn’t anything else to look at really. No neighbors to go and meet. Well, technically there were Charlie supposed, but they weren’t _right_ next door. No, they were about a five minute drive out from them.

The silence was going to be different, so was the openness of the area. They were used to the chaotic nature of Shoreditch. More went on there then many people would’ve guessed.

He smiled and the two of them got out of the car. They laced their gloved fingers together and walked to the front door. Matteusz unlocked it and the two of them walked into the dark, empty space. It was cold, unknown, and strange. Charlie hoped it wouldn’t be once they officially moved in. Until then, he doubted that the unwelcome feeling would go away. 

The place was nice. They’ve seen it before. It was small and cozy, and the land around it was beautiful. Despite having liked it the past few times visiting, a place can change drastically when someone’s personality is taken out of it. Charlie hoped that him and Matteusz would do a fine job with changing it again.

He turned on the light switch to the side, revealing the interior and ileviating themselves of the darkness.

Charlie looked over at Matteusz and the two shared an awkward smile. “When will the moving trucks be here?” He asked, slipping an arm around his boyfriend’s waist.

“Tomorrow,” He answered, looking down at their feet.

Tomorrow it is.

 

**xXx**

Matteusz stared blankly at his phone as he searched for nearby restaurants. He huffed out a breath of irritation as he looked at all of their closing times. They were closing really soon. It was only 8 o’clock but each one was closing. They wouldn’t have enough time to pick something up, let alone sit down like he was hoping to. They would have to order in. He hoped they could do that.

“Find anything?” Charlie said, approaching the counter that Matteusz was leaning on. His head shot up at the question and he moved to face Charlie. He shook his had no.

“Everywhere is closing soon. We will have to order in.” Matteusz said, visibly disappointed, he could see the same feeling with Charlie. They were excited to move in but they were also hoping to look around the town and get to know it. They were going to be bound to the house for the next few days as they moved in, they figured that they could get out for a while before being cooped up.

They would of course go outside, they would need to get food but they wouldn’t adventure out until later.

They looked at Matteusz’s phone, searching from a place to order from. They both grew in irritation as the restaurants they wanted to order from didn’t deliver this close to their closing time. The couple let out a sigh of relief when they finally found a place that delivered. Matteusz was quick to call and place their order, meanwhile, Charlie brought in their sleeping bag, blankets, among with other boxes from the car.

Matteusz did not hesitate to end the call once he ordered. “They should be here in fifteen,” He said, tucking his phone into his back pocket. He took one of the blankets from Charlie and spread it across the floor. Charlie handed him a pillow and a case and he took it. The two opened the cases and shoved the pillows in. 

Matteusz looked at Charlie. He was a strange person, Matteusz loved him for it, but he wondered if he found the same things as strange as he did. Usually in any area, no matter how small, there is somewhere that’s open for 24 hours, but not here. Every place closed within a forty minute time period, starting at 8:40 pm then ending at 9:20 pm. He thought it strange, but he didn’t know if he was the only one who thought it so. 

He didn’t say anything. He was curious to find out but it didn’t really matter. They tossed their pillows on the floor and stood awkwardly in the room. His stomach growled. Loudly. They smiled and laughed. Charlie wrapped his arms around Matteusz’s waist and pulled him close, and he reciprocated. Their heads rested against one another’s, all they could hear was each other’s breathing.

“Are you happy?” Charlie asked quietly, eyes looking up at him.

He nodded his head. “Very,” He said. “Am nervous, but happy too.”

Charlie let out a deep breath. “Same here,” Charlie said, voice sounding relieved. He leaned his head down, into Matteusz’s neck, and he lowered his arms further down Charlie’s back, hugging him tightly. 

Moving was so weird. Moving to a place that was basically a country of it's own was even stranger. It was quiet, which was completely different from the London atmosphere. There was no sound of chatter or traffic. There was nothing. Matteusz didn’t realize how accustomed he had grown to it until it was gone. Now all that was left was their breathing, and Matteusz was taking great comfort in that sound. He hadn’t taken the silence into consideration when they had made the decision to move here. He didn’t mind silence, but it was too quiet here. It almost felt like they were completely cut off from society, and that feeling made him uneasy, for who knew what lived in the world outside of society.

People don’t typically venture outside of their world, and that leaves so much unknown. 

Charlie took in another deep breath. Matteusz could feel the rise and fall of his chest against his. His eyes closed as the sound. Thankfully, Charlie was here, to remind him that he was still in a world he knew. He kissed his head then rested his cheek against it.

 

**xXx**

_Nighttime fell and out it came. The beast it was, the beast! Snarling and mean the beast came out, ready to defeat and ready to feast._

_Who’s out and about? A fool no doubt._

_And if they are not a fool then they are clueless. And if they are clueless then there’s a chance. A chance of survival and a chance of death. The absentee of knowing can be a fright and a friend._

**xXx**

Matteusz yawned and rolled over into Charlie. His boyfriend wrapped an arm around him and held him close. Charlie stared up at the ceiling. The ceiling that was so beautifully decorated by the stars. The stars weren’t actually there, no, they were projected from this light. It was a gift Matteusz had gotten him a few years back.

Charlie didn’t like the dark. The darkness was full of unknown monsters, ready to snatch at any opportunity. That was meant literally and figuratively, meaning the monsters in his real life, and the ones that haunt his mind, coming out in his dreams to viciously twist and shred them into nightmares. The lights were to relieve what pain may come. And the stars, well… Charlie just loved the stars.

Charlie looked over to see Matteusz’s eyes closed, only fluttering so often. “Do you think it will be good here?” He asked. Anxiety was pressing down on his chest, keeping his restless. It was so far away, and that was what they wanted, but…Charlie couldn’t help but feel like something was going to go very wrong. Whether it was that him or Matteusz didn’t like their jobs, or maybe the solitude is too much, or maybe they break up (please don’t be that), he didn’t know, but there was this feeling. 

This feeling – he couldn’t describe it – was sickening, and it didn’t seem like it was going to calm down anytime soon. Charlie feared that it was going to stay with him until whatever inevitable wrong happens. He just hoped that it happened sooner rather than later.

Matteusz’s eyes opened and he looked into Charlie’s. He cupped Charlie’s jaw, keeping their gaze locked. Matteusz leaned close and kissed him. They slowly broke apart and Matteusz whispered, “I think we’ll be okay.” 

That wasn’t the answer Charlie was hoping to hear, but it was good enough to ease him just a bit. They would be okay. Whether or not this place was good, they would get through it. Charlie didn’t want to keep moving, and Matteusz knew this. Charle’s had a history with moving place to place - almost like he was running away - and he wanted to settle down. He wanted to settle down permanently with Matteusz. If the area didn’t work out, despite how much he wished he did, he would still have Matteusz, and that was what mattered the most to him.

Matteusz was his family, and he was Matteusz’s family. Neither were close with their parents, but it didn’t necessarily matter anymore to Charlie seeing as how his parents were dead. His lack of relationship with his parents had effected him. Matteusz saw it more than he did, but there was nothing to do about it. Neither Charlie nor his parents could do something to bring them closer together. They were forever parted from each other, leaving a void inside Charlie. A void to be loved as a child is supposed to be loved by their parents. 

As for Matteusz, the situation was different. He never wanted to part with his family, but he had no choice in the matter. He fought - he fought so fucking hard to make his parents see and understand - but their ignorance was thick, and going off on how easy it was for them to kick him out, Charlie supposed that their love for Matteusz was thin.

Their love was intense. Lost in abandonment and disregard, the two of them had found comfort in each other, which quickly developed into something strong, for they didn’t want to lose their family.

_We will be okay_ , Charlie repeated to himself. His worry lied in if _they_ as _individuals_ would be okay.

 

**xXx**

 

_Branches broke underneath the claws. Teeth sharp and bare, ready to bite into the flesh of its victim. Come out, come out, wherever you are. Come out, come out, and play. The game of catch is the easiest game to play, as well as the most entertaining for either the prey or the predator._

_The thrill of escaping of is as exhilarating as catching. Adrenaline pumping throughout the veins. Heart pounding and chest heaving to catch a breath. The thrill of escaping may not be exciting, as they are the prey escaping the deadly hunt, but it gives the heart a kick that makes it claw for its life._

_Eyes flashed yellow, staring deeply into the eyes of another. You’ve come out, I see._

_The moon shined bright over the town. Providing a gentle illumination for anyone who might be out walking around. If someone was walking around, there was only one thing to say…._

_God help the poor soul._

_Throughout the night there was a howl. Of pleasure or pain, there was no telling, not until the morning. The woods were deep and dark, drowning out any sound that was made._

_God help the drowning soul._


	2. One Day In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something happened last night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided on around 5 or 6 chapters for this fic, and the chapters probably won't be more than 5000 so this is going to be shorter than my typical multi-chapter Class fic, but that's because I want to keep it tight and not long because there are so many stories I want to write this summer.

_Blood ran through the cracks of the earth, erasing evidence of existence. A hand lied limply on the ground, nails broken from fighting. Fighting what? The inevitable._

_Footprints stained the road with blood. Blood that had been long dry now. Existence was now history, and history became evidence. Evidence for what was a fateful end. A track, an item, anything that purely exists in the world is never evidence until something tragic happens._

_Another set of tracks stained the road as the brakes slam down. Another cry arises on that fateful day._

**xXx**

The aisles of the grocery store were slim. Fitting for a small shop. It was awfully busy, it was noon so most of the town was probably at work. The house was busy as the movers they hired were loading up their house with boxes and a mattress. They didn’t want to be there for that part. They are exhausted and moving was always overwhelming. They simply told the workers to put everything wherever and that they would deal with it themselves when they got back.

For now, the two searched the shelves for food, so they wouldn’t have to rely on the town’s poor take out for the week. Charlie mindless grabbed any sort of food product that looked remotely sweet while Matteusz pushed the cart, occasionally putting unneeded items back on the shelf (with Charlie’s agreement) and sometimes taking stuff off the shelves as well. The house completely lacked substance, as they had stupidly expected. They knew that they should’ve packed food ahead of the move so they wouldn’t have had to worry about any of this for at least a day, but alas they did not do that, so now they were buying anything in sight (well, anything in sight that fit their budget).

They turned the corner, ready to take on the next aisle despite their full cart, when they almost ran into a hysterical woman. Although her hysteria was understood within moments.

“Have you seen my son?” She cried, shoving her phone in their faces.

By instinct, Charlie and Matteusz grabbed hold of one other by the hand. The shock wore off quickly and the woman handed Charlie her phone. He took a closer look at the picture of the boy, who they assumed to be her son. He handed it over to Matteusz and he took a look at it. He was young. Give or take a few years off of their own age.

“He didn’t come home last night,” She sobbed. Matteusz’s heart broke for her. Her face was bright red and puffy. Tears were in her eyes, threatening to spill out at any moment. If Matteusz knew any better, he would say that she had been sobbing for hours. Her face showed no streaks of tears, meaning that she was probably dehydrated from crying.

“I’m sorry we - ” Charlie said softly. He was going to say something else but the woman cut him off, yanking the phone out from his hand and practically running away from them.

“Wait,” Matteusz yelled, running after her, leaving Charlie with the cart. She turned around, and Matteusz’s gut wrenched at that brief glimmer of hope that was in her eyes. He handed her a water bottle, hoping that he could help her in some way. She probably doesn’t want to cry anymore, and Matteusz felt guilty knowing that that she probably will, but he wanted to help her heart in some way. “We’ll keep an eye out for your son,” He said. That was all he could say.

She took the water bottle and hurried away. Slowly, Matteusz turned back to face Charlie, who was awkwardly standing next to the cart. He was visibly unsure about whether or not he should move. Matteusz trudged back over and did not hesitate to take Charlie’s hand in his. He kissed the back of his boyfriend’s hand and Charlie gently squeezed it.

“Do you think she’ll find him?” Charlie asked quietly, looking over his shoulder at the woman who was now talking to another couple.

Matteusz begrudgingly shrugged his shoulders. “I hope so,” He mumbled. “Town is small.”

He could see from the look on Charlie’s face that they shared the same thought. It was fear of diminished hope. The town was small. If a missing person couldn’t be found in a place this small, then what chance did anyone else have? It was a cynical and inaccurate thought, but it’s not unnatural. Stories about missing kids are the worst. They have a way of changing someone’s thoughts. The most optimistic of people succumb to cyclical and fearful thoughts when it comes to cases such as these.

No one is excused from fear.

The woman’s cracking voice as heard throughout the small shop. With every passing second, it made everyone feel uneasier. Matteusz has never felt such relief from being at the check out line, and he felt sick from feeling relief. She was distraught and he felt like he should help but more than anything now he wanted to go home with his boyfriend, lock them in their house, and keep them safe from whatever might’ve happened the night before.

 

**xXx**

_The sun shines brightly in the sky. The world is safer in the light. For the evil in the day, is vulnerable. The predator might become the prey for the prey will now know who their predator is. They will know who their murderer is, and humans will do what humans do best._

_They will be inhumane._

**xXx**

Drip, drop, the rain began to patter and splash off the ground. It was only sprinkling, but they knew very well that it would develop into a shower. The water would erase the marks. The water would erase the blood from the pavement. They only wished that it could erase it from their minds as well. From a distance the sight was sickening, but unclose it was merely heartbreaking. For the sight was familiar to the police, but not the two young men.

In fact, the sight was unfortunately familiar to everyone in the town, but you already knew that, didn’t you?

The sky was dark. Clouds gathered around the town as if they knew that a life was lost. Charlie didn’t write much, but it reminded him of one thing he wrote years ago. It was part of a short story he had been writing. It had been therapeutic. He had written it when death had entered his life as well.

_When it rains, it means that someone in the world is sad. When it thunders, it means there’s heartbreak, that the world has lost someone dear._

Thunder rumbled above them. They didn’t know the boy but it was certain that the world had lost someone dear much sooner than it should have.

Charlie knew better. He knew he shouldn’t have looked and yet he couldn’t take his eyes off the sight. There, about twenty or so feet in front of them, was the boy that they had seen in the photo earlier. He was the boy they had only seen a few mere minutes ago. There he was, surrounded by what Charlie assumed to be his own blood, with wide gashes slit everywhere on his body. It was horrifying.

The worse of it was that Charlie didn’t think that that was even the worst of it. They couldn’t see the rest because of the plastic sheet that was covering the lower half of the body. It was only lifted so they could get another look at the boy’s face.

It was almost like the body was the only thing in existence for a second. His focus didn’t wander to Matteusz or the woman at the sight or the police cars and officers. His focus was solely on the body. The pale body the rested peacefully on the pavement. Sadly, it was a familiar sight to Charlie. It was almost a sense of deja vu. He felt like he was almost expecting it to transform back in that memory.

_“Father! Father! Wake up! Please!”_ _A child sobbed._

_Tiny hands were flat on his chest, shaking and pressing on him, trying to get him to wake up. They were the hands of a child. Why wasn’t he moving? Why wasn’t he moving?! His eyes should be opening by now like they always do. Why they aren’t they opening?!_

He was reliving all of it while consciously staring at the same. He felt his hands wanting to reach out to wake up the boy, but he kept them in his lap. The scenery of the tragedy stayed in sight. The memory was only in his mind. _It’s not happening_ , he reminded himself.

He felt more mortal than he has in a long while. His fingers ghosted over his wrist, feeling the faint pulse that reminded him that he was alive. He couldn’t imagine not having a pulse. Though he supposed he wouldn’t need to imagine it. His soul would be gone along with his pulse. That kind of experience is only left for the living to deal with, not for the dead to experience.

Death rids the soul of experience. Unless, you believe in heaven or an afterlife, in that case you will live on. Charlie didn’t know if he believed in heaven or not. He didn’t know what his soul would become. He liked to think that it would float up into the sky and explore the universe. But there was no hard evidence for any outcome. Everyone alive would be left without knowing while the dead, like their life, will come to a conclusion.

Slowly he started coming back into the world. Red and blue were flashing, occasionally making the color purple. There weren’t many cars around them. In fact, they kept driving past Briar, which didn’t make complete sense, but it wasn’t something to be noticed by either of the young men. Police cars and ambulances were the only other vehicles on the road.

Something was very wrong here. Charlie knew that much. Goosebumps covered his body, and it wasn’t just the fear. No, it was from the feeling of nearby danger as well. Those two feelings aren’t necessarily connected to each other. From the wounds, the attacker was very likely to be a wolf, or some animal, and yet, Charlie felt likethere was some sort of conscious mind looking at him, looking at _them_. From a distance he felt like something was looking at it’s victory, but he was too scared and too hypnotized to look away.

This feeling was something he buried into the back of his mind. It was only a feeling, he supposed, not a fact. It’s too early to look at it as a fact. He figured that he shouldn’t paid much attention to it.

 

**xXx**

Matteusz was relieved to find the driveway of the house empty. He pressed on the gas pedal, speeding up to the front. The second he turned the car off, both him and Charlie were jumping out of the car. Matteusz ran to the side, trying to catch Charlie as he fell done onto his knees. Sometimes Charlie doesn’t realize that he’s sick, or that he’s gonna be sick. Matteusz noticed. His boyfriend had turned sickly pale in the car. Matteusz couldn’t get out of Briar road fast enough.

Charlie lurched forward, throwing up into the wet grass of their front yard. Matteusz knelt beside him, not touching him, giving him the room to gasp and breath. His knuckles were turning white as his fists clenched around the grass.

Charlie’s body fell to side when he was finished and Matteusz continued to kneel beside him. He tugged the sleeve of his jacket up around his hand and he wiped the vomit off of his boyfriend’s chin. Tears were on Charlie’s face but he wasn’t crying. He was breathing and coughing, which was normal after throwing up. He looked at Matteusz, but Matteusz wondered if he was really _looking_ at him. His eyes seemed to be dazed and far away.

Slowly, Charlie’s own hands came up to his face and wiped away the tears.

“How do you feel?” He asked, cupping Charlie’s face in his hands.

He nodded his head. “Better.” He sat up a bit, resting on his shoulders. His eyes hesitantly flickered up to look at Matteusz. They hadn’t even been here 24 hours. They hadn’t even been moved in for a day yet, and already there was a pain of regret in both of them. It was just an animal attack, right? It was just an animal attack that could’ve happened to anybody. It wasn’t uncommon here, they supposed, but… This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not in a town this small.

They moved here to avoid the chaos of their Shoreditch life. They exchanged the loud, dangerous city for a quaint, quiet town in the middle of nowhere. A town where nothing was supposed to happen. At least, that was what they were led to believe. The quiet was strange but Matteusz had thought that at least they’d be at peace. Now for the next few weeks he was going to be paranoid about him or Charlie or anyone being clawed to death as well.

 _This wasn’t supposed to happen_ , the both of them thought. They could see that in each other’s eyes. It wasn’t something they needed to say outloud. Matteusz leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss to Charlie’s head.

“Do you want to lie down?” He asked, meaning lying down in their house instead of the grass.

Charlie nodded his head. His fingers touched the top of Matteusz’s hand. There was something on his tongue that Matteusz could see he was trying to say. He waited patiently for him to say whatever he wanted to say. “Could…” He started. He took in a deep breath. “Could you come with me?”

Matteusz gave him a small smile and nodded his head. He took Charlie’s hands and helped him up. “You go inside. I will take everything out.”

He watched as Charlie went inside and then turned to look out at the wide world in front of him. The clouds were dark from rain. The weather had let up for a few minutes but he figured that it would start back up again quite soon. In the distance, and Matteusz meant _far out_ into the distance, there was a small glimpse of light. It hardly shined through the dark clouds around it, but it was glowing just enough for Matteusz to see it.

The wind was starting to pick up, whistling into his ears. Despite the death that occurred near the land, it somehow felt more alive, but in an uneasy way. It felt like there was a heartbeat beneath his feet and eyes somewhere in the distance. He felt like every breath exhaled would be carry by the wind and into the ears of the other. It felt like he wasn’t really supposed to be here, that this land belonged to someone - or _something -_ else.

Unbeknownst to Matteusz, he was experiencing an uneasy feeling that Charlie had felt earlier that day: the feeling of being watched. Perhaps they were being watched and just didn’t know it. Maybe deep down they did but didn’t want to acknowledge it. They weren’t people who liked to ignore things, but this was the one exception. A mauling had happened nearby, this was probably just paranoia. That was what they convinced themselves.

The wind picked up, becoming harsher on Matteusz. He opened up the trunk of the car and carried the groceries inside, ignoring the poking feeling at his head.

**xXx**

_Thump. Thump. Thump goes the beating heart. It’s pumping the rushing blood throughout the body. Exhilaration and excitement is still buzzing throughout the drowsy beast, full from it’s feast. Despite it’s full stomach, it was ready to hunt again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Hope this lived up to the first chapter! I got so much positive feedback, it made me so happy! Thank you guys for commenting!


	3. In The Darkness Monsters Lurk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares are brewing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I upped the chapter count to 6.

_The moon shined bright up in the sky, illuminating the dark night. This was a rare sight for clouds typically soared throughout the sky, blocking the moon as well as the stars. Everything in the open was dimly illuminated, everything in the dark, well… it remained to be hidden. The branches at the top of the trees absorbed the moonlight and hid it from the ground beneath, depriving it of life and turning it into a nightmare - a dark endless pit._

_Scratches scarred the ground below. Unknown to the eye, but known to the world. The world is a person undeserving of the gift of life. It deserved to live out its life in peace. Instead, it’s been condemned to humanity as well as monsters. Sometimes…monsters are hidden amongst humanity. No matter, the world didn’t deserve to be scarred. It didn’t deserve the fires and droughts and other disasters, and it didn’t deserve the angry abuse from the creature. It didn’t deserve to have roots be torn out, fresh branches be broken apart, it didn’t deserve to be slowly killed._

_The night was bright and quiet, a rare occasion. No civilian of the town was in danger tonight. Each and every one was locked and safe inside their homes. The only life that was being taken was life itself, and that was just as equally tragic._

**xXx**

Charlie was young when he learned that creatures and monsters lurked in the dark, and the dark doesn’t necessarily always mean nighttime. Charlie hadn’t known it when he was a child, but monsters were something of the psychological nature, too. He was never a child that had to be convinced that monsters weren’t real, he always believed that they were, but he didn’t know that they were in his head as well, always trying their damndest to drown him. They never succeeded, but they did hurt him. The monsters in his head might not be physically real, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t have the ability cause harm.

_Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me._

It’s a bit like that, isn’t it? There’s this belief that just because something isn’t real it can’t cause any real damage. It disregards emotions. Emotional health is just as important as physical health. Just like words, nightmares hurt. They take you by the neck and hold you tightly, making you writhe and plead underneath their touch, until you fight them off. Nightmares isn’t a hard person with some grain of a conscious, no it is not. It’s a cruel, unrelenting monster, and it’s up to its victim to escape. No compromise, only war.

It wasn’t fair really. Sleep should be where one can escape from the dreadful clutches of reality, but they still find their way inside. Life is made up of wars and fears. It is made of other things as well, but those seem to be the most common, or at least, the most present unfortunately. War, hatred, and fear have a connection, one that runs so deep in the human race and it might fearfully continue on until they perish, and the darkness in the solitude of one’s mind is where they should be safe, not scared.

Charlie should be sound asleep. He shouldn’t be flinching, he shouldn’t be whimpering, he shouldn’t be sweating as much as he is and he shouldn’t be shaking as much as he is, and yet that’s the state he’s in. He’s in a bothered and frightened state. He’s in the state of the nightmare’s prey. It may not feast on him but it gets off on his pain. It’s succeeding in weakening him, but it will not defeat him.

Charlie escaped, he always did, but he awoke in a screaming fit into a silent, bright night, startling his sleeping boyfriend beside him.

He clawed at his own body, feeling foreign to it like it wasn’t really his own. He wanted to crawl out of his skin. He wanted to crawl out of this trapped space, but it was incapable. His mind and soul were trapped, trapped inside a vessel that was randomly given to him.

He sometimes wanted to be free, like an entity, a force to reckoned with like nature was, but alas he was in a body. Contained, singular, and small.

His jagged nails dug into his skin. It wasn’t helping him escape, he knew that in his subconscious but in his dazed and panic state it didn’t register. All he was accomplishing was scraping red marks onto his pale, glimmering skin. It looked like the poor man had been attacked – mauled by some beast.

That monster was Charlie himself, and there wasn’t a sure way of telling if that was better or worse. Matteusz knew Charlie better than anyone but despite his good mental and emotional health, there were trying times. And in these times, both of them were scared for Charlie. 

His head was spinning, and splitting - he couldn’t think. He pushed something off his body, shivering at cold air’s touch. He let out a short gasp, feeling a brief moment of relief as if his chest had let up only for only one second. He didn’t know what was happening to him. Was he suffocating or was he hysterical? He couldn’t tell.

The room was dark with only a small glimmer in the corner but he didn’t know what it was. Everything was blurry and…and it was so dark, and cold. He collapsed back onto his bed, shivering or shaking, maybe both.

 _Breathe. Breathe,_ he reminded himself, or at least, he thinks that voice is in his head. He let out a loud cry of relief when he took in a deep inhale. His chest was burning. His chest was heavy. He needed to take in another one. He focused, listening to the words, and breathed in and out in an unsteady pace, but it was in and out, which was all he needed now. 

With every passing minute, breathing came easier and easier to him. His eyes were feeling heavy but he blinked them open anyway, finding a distressed Matteusz sitting up next to him. He wasn’t touching him, his hands were twitching in his lap, but he could see that he wanted to. Sometimes, when Charlie gets like this, it’s best for him to slowly enter reality on his own. Shaking and restraining him would only make it worse, it would make everything more real and Charlie would fight even more. 

Sometimes, even though it doesn’t seem like it, the best thing to do is give him space. 

He let out an exhausted sigh and took Matteusz’s hand from his lap. His boyfriend scooted closer, sweeping Charlie up in his arms. Matteusz pressed his warm body up against his own and slowly but surely Charlie fell back into the abyss of his mind, hoping once again that he would find solitude. 

**xXx**

_Silence echoed with the now dead heart. Red stained the white fur of the lamb. Black were the soulless eyes. Confusion and pain were no more as a vessel lied boneless and dead on the cold ground – the cold, rough ground that had been scarred by claws. It would recover time. Hopefully. Nature, after all, is a violated entity, ruthless and caring all at once. The beast’s mess might be taken care of, or it could grow worse._  

**xXx**

Red is a disdainful color, isn’t it? Used for love as much as it is for horror. The blood of a beating heart, the blood of a gash. One quite beautiful as it is life itself. The other one is awful as it is a wound. Is it red that means love or is it just the objects associated with it? Movies, books, and life itself all associate red, along with black, to be the color of death. If not death, then it means something very bad or unpleasant. Red brings out more discomfort than love - the opposite intention of its marketing. 

Red is something Matteusz has never associated with love, only injury. For him, the color of love is blue. According to google, “is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.” That isn’t why it represents love for him, but it’s always a nice fact to throw around. Love is blue for him because of Charlie. His blue eyed, blue wearing boyfriend. The boyfriend that would paint and decorate almost everything blue if he could. If Matteusz ever had to pick a color that embodies Charlie, it would be blue. 

His disdain and fondness have now clashed together and made him conflicted. For Charlie, his blue eyed, blue wearing boyfriend, had blood dripping down his chest. It was long dry by now, dried up in streaks that traveled down the sides of Charlie’s chest for he slept on his back. He looked as if he had been murdered - stabbed to death. He hadn’t been, he was sitting right in front of Matteusz in the tub, alive and…well, he was alive. 

Matteusz lightly scrubbed a wet rag over the scratches that were slashed across Charlie’s chest, ridding him of any dry blood that surrounded the cuts. Charlie, meanwhile, filed his nails, smoothing out the sharp, jagged edges that had pierced his skin.

“Did you always bite your nails?” Matteusz whispered. He didn’t remember ever seeing Charlie bite his nails. It wasn’t a bad habit that he resorted back to and it wasn’t something he did when he was nervous or anxious, there were other things he did to give that away. When it came to hygiene, Charlie was very responsible and careful, and this… It wasn’t like him to do this. But last night wasn’t like Charlie at all.

“No,” He answered, glancing back at Matteusz for one second. He sounded just as confused and baffled as Matteusz felt. “I’ve never had a problem with that, but lately…” He sighed. “Lately it’s all I seem to be doing and I don’t even realize it.” 

Matteusz nodded his head, glancing up from Charlie’s chest to look at his face. “Has everything been okay?” 

Weeks have gone by since they first moved in. They’ve started their jobs, they’ve slowly adjusted to the new environment, and they’ve gotten to be familiar with the town. If this was about their move, or if this was about that boy from that second day, then Matteusz would’ve expected to see something like this around that time, but it’s been two months since then. Why now? Had something happened? 

Charlie nodded his head. Matteusz gave him a disbelieving look. Charlie didn’t see it but he sensed it. “Everything’s been good.” He turned to look at Matteusz. “Really, it has. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.” His eyes and voice were sincere, convincing Matteusz that he was okay, and he believed him.

They’ve adjusted to their new home, but the off-putting feeling that they had when they first arrived was still lurking around behind walls and trees, hiding then jumping out to frighten them. 

Matteusz scrubbed at Charlie’s sides, easily washing off the dried blood. “I should’ve checked,” He mumbled, heart twisting with sadness and guilt. 

Charlie shook his head, awkwardly turning his body in the tub to face Matteusz. “You didn’t know,” He said, leaning in close. “I’ve never been like this. I’ve never done _this_ before _._ ” He referenced his chest. “I didn’t realize what I had done either.” His fingers trailed along Matteusz’s arms, leaving a faded path of water. He took the rag from Matteusz’s hand and kissed his cheek. He returned his focus back to his body, but the conversation wasn’t over yet.

“What was it about?” He whispered to Charlie. 

His boyfriend’s hands paused over his chest, brows furrowing in thought. “I don’t remember,” He said hesitantly. He looked up at him. “It probably had something to do with my parents.” 

“You’ve had those dreams before,” Matteusz pointed out. “’N you’ve never been like this,” 

“I know.” He said. He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”

**xXx**

_Underneath the full moon, is a telling of stories. The boy who cried wolf under his own attack. A lamb who whimpered and struggled under the teeth of a predator. Blood and scars riddled the victims, leaving time to clean up the mess._

**xXx**

Nausea twisted in the young lovers stomachs as the broken lamb lied with its stomach open in their front yard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted a parallel to Charlie and the beast as well and briefly discuss nature. I hope this chapter was good and it made sense.


	4. Golden Eyes And White Teeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie's car breaks down on Briar....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed to post something or else I was not going to finish this fic

_The still unknown and unspoken rule of the town left the young man clueless and standing in the middle road._ **_Stay inside when nighttime falls_ ** _. He hadn’t known, how could he? A small town that disguised itself as a safe and quiet space. Had he known, the young man wouldn’t be standing in the road, let alone living here._

_The rule that guaranteed safe passage through the night was now useless for it had gone unnoticed by the new civilians. The safe space that the town had advertised itself to be had developed into a more life threatening lie, for the blood of the newcomers would be on their hands. Unspoken is the known rule to the long-time citizens. An unspoken rule to newcomers is a signature on a death certificate. Ignorance and fear is what lies in the town for they do not want to admit to themselves that they host the beast._

**_Pretend it’s not there. Pretend everything is okay and maybe it will be okay. Pretend it’s not happening and it will sort itself out one way or another._ **

_A dangerous mindset that is for it causes more pain than it does resolution. Selfish it is as well because it harms others in the world. Ignorant it is for they do nothing but contribute to the pain. An ignorant person such as this might as well be the beast. Their actions have consequences. Their actions are directly involved with the death of their neighbors. They didn't tear the victims guts out, but they left them to die. They left them there as a clueless sacrifice. They thought the victims lives paled in comparison to their own._

_Villainous it is for they belittle the lives of others._

_The cherishing of one’s life over another’s is not a sin. **But** the belief that someone's life matters less is one of the most sinful things of all._

 

**xXx**

 

The night was dark and full of tears that fell from the always starry sky. Loud was the thumping of his heartbeat in his ears as he stood underneath the twilight. Heavy was his chest as anxiety twisted the contents inside.

 

**xXx**

 

_Your life is not promised in the dark and open. No one can help you underneath the twilight._

 

**xXx**

 

Dark was the road ahead of him, only dimly illuminated by the headlights of his car. No lamppost in sight and most certainly none further down the road - the road that is waved with slick curves through a dark forest - the forest of Briar Road. Howls echo through the night almost always followed by the crunching and cracking of branches beneath a foot.

 

**xXx**

 

_No one can help you on Briar road._

 

**xXx**

 

Despicable chance was – a right foul git she was as well for luring him into her trap, and a fool he was for giving into it. It was a trap he stupidly fell into time and time again. A trap he _willingly_ fell into. Why would he willingly go along with her scheme? To give his messy life a sense of normalcy. Something it lacks in almost every way but one. He should know better by now that normal is never something that his life will become.

People say normal is overrated, Charlie doesn’t agree. How could having two alive and loving parents be overrated? How could life free of threat be overrated? How could a life of friendship and partnership be overrated? How could having a _family_ be overrated? Whenever that phrase was spoken, Charlie could never tell if it was the romanticizing of struggle speaking, or the voice of a carefree and happy spirit. It didn’t make sense to him. Weren’t those things supposed to be normal?

Weren’t those things supposed to be a constant in everyone’s life?

They weren’t always, unfortunately, chance made sure of that. A constant in one’s life is not the constant of another.

The day started out as a normal day – a typical day. It started out in his warm bed – how he _wished_ he was in that bed now – with Matteusz. They got up, ate breakfast, and went to work. The day was anything but abnormal.

But that is what makes life a cruel entity, isn’t it? She lures you into a state of relaxation by providing a false feeling of security, convincing you that the day would go on and end the same as before. That the daily routine would go as smoothly as it has before. Life is unpredictable as it likes to remind us. It can be unpredictable in the best and worst of ways.

That was something that Charlie has always understood. His life is a definition of an unpredictable mess. His life has been a whirlwind of good and bad unforeseen events. Despite living through the worst of his life, he couldn’t help but feel angry at anything else that continued to go wrong.

He felt that he had been through his fair share of trauma, why was more trouble to come? What more did life want from him? Life didn’t owe him anything, he knew that too. He was caught between acceptance and anger when it came to the twists of life, knowing that this was what it was and yet wanting to give into the desire to fight against it, if that made any sense.

Tonight was already proving to be one of the worst cases.

 

**xXx**

 

_The wind was howling, drowning out the rest of the world. The powerful wind isolated them all. The force pushed the cold rain harshly against whoever was out, causing their sight to betray them. They had vision, but their closed lids to protect their eyes from the stinging of the rain had left them completely in the dark. The whistle of the wind cut off their hearing as well as their voice._

_No human, no animal, was better or greater. Nature was made for equality - for an equal battle. Mother Nature’s job was done as she had put them all on equal ground, making them all just as vulnerable. She left the boy and the beast with no voice, hearing, or vision for this fight._

_Equals they shall be._

 

**xXx**

 

His blood boiled against the cool breeze and his hands were shaking in anger at his sides. Hands clenched in tight fists, his jagged nails dug into his skin, harshly piercing into his skin.

He inhaled and exhaled, echoing Matteusz’s voice in his head. _Breathe in, breathe out._ His hands, against their wish, unclenched and he put one into his pocket and pulled out his phone, quickly finding and pressing on Matteusz’s number. It rang quietly, drowned out from the whistling wind. Giving up easily, Charlie hung up, and sent a text instead.

_Something’s happened to the car. It won’t work. I’m on Briar._

He sighed when those three little dots appeared at the bottom of the screen, but his relief was short lived.

 _Snap_ , twigs broke in half. _Snap_ , they went again, growing louder and closer through the shielded darkness. A low rumble was carried through the wind, barely heard by the human’s ears.

Charlie, completely forgetting about his car and his phone, stepped back, further into the center of the road. Cupping his hands around his eyes to shield them from the rain, he tried to focus on the sight in front of him.

 _Snap_ , twigs broke in half! _Snap_ , they went again! There was something there, he knew it. He looked down at his feet, praying that maybe it was him that was stepping on sticks, but alas it wasn’t, and Charlie’s stomach twisted into knots. Slowly – _dreadfully –_ he looked up, and through the night shined two golden eyes and a set of sharp, white teeth high up in the trees.

When Charlie said high, what he really meant was taller than him. The fact of that didn’t make it any less frightening, it just made it more factual. The devil is in the details as people always like to say. Well, the defense is in the details as well. The reality of the world lives in the details. Anything that is left out only leaves miscommunication and weakness – weakness to not live up to or seek out the truth.

His heart pounded in his chest. **_Thump_** _, thump,_ ** _thump_** _,_ it beaded. **_Thump_** _, thump,_ ** _thump_** _,_ it rang in his ears. His heart was racing and pounding so hard he thought it might escape the confines of his chest. His hand clasped where his heart is when the set of teeth twisted into what almost looked to be a sly grin.

 

**xXx**

 

_Thumping, scratching, howling, running, panting, went the beast and the prey. Similar are the monsters and the ordinary. Similar are the villains and the heroes. The difference between their lives lies in how they made it._

_Villains never think of themselves as villains in their stories. They sometimes believe themselves to be heroes. Other times, they simply think they are doing what’s best for themselves. Their desire of rebuilding lies on the destruction of others, and while they might not love it, they are unbothered by it, and that is just as despicable. The disregard - the_ **_belittling_ ** _\- of human life and the belief that ones own is superior to the rest is a criminal mind._

_Neither the beast nor the boy were a villain or a hero. One was the villain of the other, but neither were villains, not really. Both were fighting to stay alive. One was escaping the fate of starvation while the other was escaping the fate of being the feast. Both were viewed as a threat and both were seen as the victim. One as a victim of circumstance, the other as a victim of a vicious attack._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it a cliffhanger or just sloppy writing? I'll let you guys decide. 
> 
> In all honesty though I tried to be consistent with the relationship between Charlie and the beast.


	5. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work will sadly go unfinished. I anticipated writing more, I had a lot of plans, but I wasn't given a lot of motivation to continue this. The people who encouraged me to write this with the promise of reading it never did, and that has left me angry and unmotivated. For the sake of my emotional health, I've decided to stop writing this one. 
> 
> This chapter is as much of a conclusion that I could write. This chapter is unfinished. I'm too tired and busy to finish it properly.

The road was bumpy, making them jump in their seats as they quickly drove down the road. The car was moving fast but, yet time seemed to slow down. Memories were tricky like that, he supposed. They only seem to pass through the mind for only a second, and yet, they can affect a person beyond belief. It passes by, not interrupting the present, but somehow to soul is dragged back into its haunted contents and it slowly drags them through the mud until their soul feels as haunted and dirty as it did during that moment.

 

The trees were dark, the sky was dim, the wind was silent, and the road seemed to be never ending. He was in a moving, speeding car and yet he felt pinned down. He didn’t feel like he was moving forward, he felt like he was being pulled backwards. Nothing was happening to him. He was in the front seat of the car with the seat belt tighted across his chest, sitting next to his boyfriend who was currently driving, and yet, his mind had been kidnapped.

 

His body was there but his mind was ripped back into that awful moment. His scarred body, which was sitting safely in the vehicle, now felt the tips of its claws scratching and tearing into his skin. His throat and lungs felt deprived and closed with the ghostly feeling of dirt and fear lodged in. A shiver went up his spine, despite being perfectly warm and comfortable. It wasn’t fear that traveled throughout his body then it was the ice-cold feeling of the rain that harshly hit his skin in the moonlight.

 

It’s awfully funny, isn’t it? To physically and mentally be in a place then be ripped out of it in no less than a second? It was not a miracle, but it felt like something as extraordinary and miraculous as one. Humanity is interesting in so many different ways. No wonder people like to study it. The mind is simply complex. It’s made up of endless differences and discoveries. No mind is alike, no matter how similar. There always seems to be something defining within a person’s mind. Something that separates them from everyone else.

 

Tangents such as this are helpful, he discovers. Fear and demons still lie within him, but his distant mind eventually wanders off to somewhere more logical and soulful. Peace and spiritual discovery can sometimes be found in science. It’s nothing but facts, and sometimes it’s positively boring, but other times it can be fascinating in the way humans view each other.

 

Logic was what he needed right now. Something completely illogical happened to him. Something that was inconceivable as it seemed to have been created by a child’s worst nightmare. It could be anyone’s worst nightmare, if he were being honest.

 

Adults might know that monsters don’t exist in a closet or under the bed but that doesn’t mean that they know for a fact that monsters are non-existent. Any parent who claims that is someone who believes that everything in the ocean has been discovered, which is 100% not true. The world will never finish finding new discoveries. That’s a fact, and it’s one the humanity needs to accept.

 

Despite seeing a monster face to face, it was something that he needed to accept as well. Monsters? He grew up thinking that humans were the only monsters to roam the earth, but he was proven wrong. He was beaten within an inch of his life and yet he still didn’t quite believe it. He almost believes that maybe his mind had conjured up a disguise for a human, but he knew what he saw. He knew what he felt. He knew what he heard. His scratched and scarred body knew exactly what had happened to him that night. Apparently, this retched town knew what happened to him as well, even without seeing him.

 

Anger didn’t get a chance to wash over him before his hand was taken by his boyfriend’s, only slightly bringing his distracted head back to the present. Anger hadn’t quite registered yet, he was still dazed, but it definitely raged on in his peaceful and pacifist boyfriend. He didn’t know what happened, only a little bit, but whatever it was must’ve been awful. He doesn’t see him like this that often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry to Ellienerd14 and what-the-nesmith. Your comments meant the world to me as did your support. You read this fic from chapter one and made sure to comment on each chapter and let me rant to you on tumblr when I was frustrated. Thank you so much and I'm so sorry to not end this fic on a proper note. I hope what I've written was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> I'm a huge fan of folklore and I thought why not throw our lovable sci-fi characters into a folklore story. I have a few more ideas for the other characters but I'm still deciding. Some of the ideas I've had are incredibly dark and I don't know if I would feel comfortable writing those stories. We will see how this fanfic does first. 
> 
> Also if Matteusz and Charlie felt awkward, that was kind of intentional. I've been moving around a lot and it's been a bit awkward going back and forth between so many places.


End file.
